Baseball's Charm

Baseball continues its comeback. Remember those immediate post-strike years? The national pastime as past tense?

Well, last year's McGwire-Sosa home-run derby helped muffle that talk for good (and the sluggers' repeat duel this year, though less heralded, was almost as exciting).

The post-season, however, is shaping up to be the crest of baseball's new wave. The predictably dominant teams are there - the Yankees and the Braves. But where did the Red Sox and the Mets come from?

From way behind Cleveland in the Sox's case, thanks to a hitting epiphany (44 runs in the last three games) and pitching virtuosity from a quickly uninjured Pedro Martinez.

The game's surprises are its charm. May they keep coming.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society